Tag: editing

Blogging is the perfect tool for new writers over fifty. I didn’t begin to get serious about writing until I was in my early fifties. While I was very comfortable with computers, I didn’t know a thing about blogs or blogging. They were fashionable among young people but at that time they had not yet found their way into the main stream universe of the individual over fifty.

Fortunately, while looking for freelance writing work, I was hired by a woman a little older than myself who was way ahead of the curve. While she didn’t know much more than I did about blogging and the internet she had been among the first to feel the pull of creating a dialogue about aging for women over fifty, and when Suzanne Caplan, my friend and mentor created the website Women Etcetera!, has an idea she deems important, it happens! (Sadly, WE is no longer in existence.) On that site, a small group of women gathered to talk about the aging process, and much more. We discussed the challenges we were facing, loved and supported one another through difficult times and created lasting friendships. What does this have to do with writing? Everything!

As a blogger for Women Etcetera! I discovered my voice. I discovered who I was through the written word, how people received what I wrote and even what it felt like to be misunderstood because I had not chosen my words carefully. I blogged through and about my mother’s passing comfortably and freely and did some of my best writing in the process.

Technology may have created some difficulties for writers, but it has provided us with the tools and opportunities to hone our skills in a way never before possible. Spell check alone has saved me countless hours, not to mention the years it would have taken me to re-type everything I’ve re-written! The tools and platforms we have at our disposal actually allow us to speed up the learning process provided we embrace them fully and use them to our advantage.

Blogging, either for someone else or on your own blog is the perfect place for new writers to begin to hone their craft. Here’s just a few things a blog can do for you.

1. Learn writing discipline

2. Develop a proofreading habit

3. Develop a focus for your writing

4. Learn to accept criticism

5. Learn to accept praise (this may be more difficult for many!)

6. Discover your voice

7. Make friends that support your interests and writing career

8. Develop a platform that will ultimately improve your odds of publishing

9. Make valuable writing connections

10. The blog platforms are perfect for organizing your writing

There are many, many more advantages, but the bottom line is, if you are serious about being a published writer, start blogging. If you are already blogging, keep at it!

If you need help getting started blogging, finding your writing focus, or developing your book platform, reach out to me. I can help.